YACHTING; Powerful Technology Riding Gentle Breezes

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Yachtsmen who grew up sailing with a chilly Atlantic Ocean spray in their face tend to scoff at the idea of an America's Cup series held in the soft, forgiving breezes of sunny California. Behind the smugness is the belief that competition for yachting's most prestigious prize deserves more demanding conditions.

But Eastern purists have yet to see the thrilling, frightening power of the new class of boats under sail. The sloops are built to be powerful, and at 75 feet, they can also be unruly. When the 110-foot mast breaks, the spar snaps like a matchstick and falls like a pillar. A collision between two of the heavily canvassed yachts can have the impact of a locomotive running into a boxcar.

The new technology brings high drama that can lead to disaster. But it also attests to the experimentation that is going on in the America's Cup this time around.

Two United States teams are slated to begin elimination races Tuesday for the 28th defense of the cup. The three-month contest will decide who will defend the historic trophy in May -- Team Dennis Conner or William Koch's America 3 syndicate -- against one of nine challengers. Technology and Tacking Duels

Nearly four years have passed since the last match for the 141-year-old prize. It has been a turbulent time beset by questions about whether yachting's oldest regatta would survive and, if so, in what form. The main answer -- the new class of yachts -- seems to be clearing the way for a kind of America's Cup renewal.

The International America's Cup Class was developed in 1989 to replace the 12-Meter, the class used for cup competitions since 1958. The I.A.C.C. boats are 10 feet longer than most 12-Meters, one-third lighter, and carry more than 40 percent more sail area.

"Racing won't be as close as it was with the 12-Meters, but it will be interesting to watch," Dennis Conner said in an interview Friday. "Masts will break, booms will break, there will be spinnakers caught under the boats and there will be injuries. But as for the close tacking duels that we had with the 12-Meters, no. Designers have had 45 years to develop the 12's. But they're just learning about the new boats."

David Pedrick, a designer for Conner's new I.A.C.C. yacht, Stars & Stripes, says that the I.A.C.C. sailboats represent the future in marine technology. "It is a vastly hotter kind of boat than the 12-Meter," he said. Cotton Sails No More

Pedrick's enthusiasm is not directed so much at boat speed -- a multihull vessel is far faster than most monohulls -- but at the I.A.C.C. boat's potential power. Sail changes and mark roundings are apt to demand the best of each crew, even in the light to average winds of 8-14 knots that are prevalent in San Diego.

The I.A.C.C. yachts will fly giant, 4,900-square-foot spinnakers. A mainsail and headsail are likely to add another 3,000 square feet to the sail plan. Masts on 12-Meters were about 90 feet, and carried 2,500-square-foot spinnakers.

Sail design will be more important than ever in America's Cup racing. Computer technology is able to create intricate broadseams with synthetic materials such as Kevlar, a woven cloth, and Mylar, a plastic film, for a more refined sail shape. Cotton sails sewn by hand are as antiquated as a grandfather clock.

"Rather than having to build a sail and test it on a sailboat, we have the analytical tools to actually fly it on the computer," said Tom Whidden, the tactician for Conner's yacht, Stars & Stripes. "It is part science, part art. Every designer has a twist on how he interprets what he sees." Full-Length Battens

Whidden, who is also president of North Sails, said that full-length battens in the mainsails will be necessary to add support to sail shapes that are fuller up top. The battens also help to smooth the flow of air at the mast. They are likely to be made of carbon fiber, a material known for being strong but lightweight.

Asymmetrical sails, which are balloon-shaped like a spinnaker but visibly longer on one side than the other, are apt to be used for the America's Cup reaching legs. The spinnaker, a traditional symmetrical sail with even sides, is expected to be hoisted for most downwind conditions.

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The I.A.C.C. hulls have their own claim on new technology. The hulls are built around a mold by sandwiching a honeycomb stiffening material between layers of carbon fiber coated with an epoxy resin.

The I.A.C.C.'s carbon fiber hull must comply with prescribed thicknesses and weights spelled out in the class rules. But the hull's internal web, a network of support beams, can be as light as a designer dares to make it. Stability and Speed

Most marine experts try to push the principle in an effort to put as much weight as they can in the keel, which is used for ballast to offset the I.A.C.C. yacht's huge sail plan. About 27,000 pounds of a boat's weight, which is apt to average about 37,000 pounds, is centered in a lead, torpedo-sized bulb at the end of the keel. The appendage extends about 13 feet below the bottom of the boat.

"If one is able to reduce the structural weight of the hull, and put this weight saved in the bulb, the stability will be large and the boat will sail faster," said Jerome Milgram, a professor of ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Milgram is the design director for Koch's $45 million America 3 project. The team has built three of the new $5 million I.A.C.C. boats and announced Thursday that it expects to have a fourth new boat in time for the semifinal defense races in March.

The winged keel of Australia II, which caused Conner to lose the America's Cup in 1983, is unlikely to resurface this time. The 12-Meter Class rules encouraged the winged appendage to offset severe limitations on draft, the keel's depth in the water. Designers have more freedom in the I.A.C.C. rules.

The massive hulls are sprouting underbody shapes as bold to yacht design as I. M. Pei's addition to the Louvre was to architecture. The appendage configurations are secret; plastic skirts wrap the boats from the deckline down when they are taken out of the water at night.

Twin keels are rumored to extend from both the New Zealand and Spirit of Australia hulls. Smaller appendages, even little winglets, reportedly suspend from others.

Attempts by photographers to film the submerged shapes from helicopters have been thwarted by ingenious techniques at camouflage. Some of the teams have painted their keels in pastel greens and blues to make them blend with the seas. Others have resorted to masterful graphics that are meant to reflect images across the water at a level where the keel might be seen.

The New Zealand team has emblazoned its color hull with the words "New Zealand" in bright white near the water's edge. The America 3 team painted an eagle in flight on the hull. Rival teams have commented that the bird looks like it's drowning.

Actually what's drowning, according to Koch, are syndicates saddled with the expenses of the new technology. He has advocated moving to smaller, less costly designs for future America's Cup sailing. "The boats are spectacular to sail," Koch said last week. "But I'm the one who has to pay the bills. They are extremely fragile and expensive."

Conner says he doesn't buy Koch's crying poverty. "Here's the richest man in the whole thing saying the boats are expensive. It's incongruous. That is what's giving him his advantage. If it was just a sailboat race, it wouldn't be involved.

"This is a tough thing to do," Conner continued, "that's why people care. It's a game of life, the sailboat race is just how we keep score."

A version of this article appears in print on January 13, 1992, on Page C00002 of the National edition with the headline: YACHTING; Powerful Technology Riding Gentle Breezes. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe